page_title: Queensbridge Houses
section_title: Buildings
hierarchical_section_title: Queensbridge Houses / Structures / Buildings
caption_attribution_description: English: looking north up Vernon Blvd from Queensboro Bridge towards Queensbridge Park, Ravenswood power plant, and Queensbridge Houses of NYCHA on a sunny early afternoon.
context_page_description: Queensbridge Houses, also known as Queensbridge, is a public housing development in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Owned by the New York City Housing Authority, the 3,142-unit complex is the largest in the Western Hemisphere, accommodating approximately 6,907 people within two separate complexes. The complex opened in 1939.
  Queensbridge is located in Queens Community District 1, and its ZIP Code is 11101.
context_section_description: The 96-unit, six-story buildings are distinctive due to their shape of two Y's connecting at the base.  This shape was used as the architects hoped it would give residents more access to privacy and sunlight than the traditional cross-shape. The design was said to be cost-efficient, and they reduced the cost even further by using elevators that only stopped at the 1st, 3rd, and 5th floors.  Political pressure to keep costs down was a key reason for the use of cheap designs. W.F.R. Ballard, Henry S. Churchill, Frederick G. Frost, and Burnett Turner designed Queensbridge.
  In many aspects, the buildings of Queensbridge are very similar to most government-built housing projects of the era. They are a worn grayish brown which now suffers noticeable deterioration and weathering.  Each building is painted red to about four feet up from the ground, giving a united feel to the entire complex as a uniform red "layer" is always close, throughout the complex. On each of the corners in Queensbridge, the New York City Housing Authority has posted signs indicating the project's name and management: "Queensbridge North (or South) NYCHA." These signs come in several varieties depending on their age. The oldest signs, erected in the early nineties, are simply orange and blue, with the newer signs featuring graphics, like those of many other projects.
  Access to buildings in the complex is by key or via an intercom system.  The halls of Queensbridge's buildings are comparable to most municipal buildings, and are dilapidated and lined with worn light blue tiles. Apartments are painted white and are fairly small, even by New York City standards. Elevators have been rebuilt and now stop at floors 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and kitchens have been completely renovated and now have frost-free refrigerators. Three thousand bathrooms were renovated with new tubs, toilets, vanities, floor tile and lighting in 2000. This followed a renovation in 1986 when 1000 of the bathrooms were renovated by Arc Plumbing.
caption: Queensbridge (right), Queensbridge Park (left), and Ravenswood Generating Station (background)
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